PUBW 41

Chapter 41

Because of that, I ended up bumping my face straight into something.

“Ouch!”

My nose!

“Shasha, are you okay?”

Artif, who had pulled me inside and shut the door, asked frantically.

It hurts. I know this pain. This isn’t the first time I’ve smashed into that solid chest of his. That brute!

“Artif.”

I rubbed my nose and glared at him.

“Does it hurt a lot? I’ll call a physician.”

“A physician, seriously? Didn’t I tell you not to just grab and hug me like that?”

“But I didn’t hug you…”

“Anyway!”

Artif, who had looked dejected, suddenly spoke boldly.

“You didn’t come quickly. If you had come right away, I wouldn’t have had to go out looking for you.”

“Ha! Don’t lie. You think I don’t know you came out because you sensed me approaching?”

“……”

Like I don’t know about your monster-like instincts.

Artif’s confidence died again.

“I’m sorry. Let me see.”

When he reached to touch my face, I jerked my head away and sat down on the sofa.

“You’re making a fuss over nothing.”

“Your nose is red. I really think you should see a physician.”

He sat across from me as he said this.

As expected, a dragon could appear and he’d still worry like a softhearted man.

“That’s why I keep telling you to be careful. Your body is a weapon to me, you know?”

“Alright, I was wrong. Want me to get you veal steak?”

I shot him a sharp look, but Artif burst out laughing. He seemed like a completely different person compared to how he looked outside.

Suddenly, it occurred to me: maybe it wasn’t that he hated me and that’s why he always looked so sour whenever he saw me, but that his face just naturally looked fierce.

“Artif, did you dislike me before I turned into a cat?”

“Me? Impossible. Why would you think that?”

“Because you always radiated killing intent whenever you saw me. You never greeted me, and if our eyes met you’d just quickly walk off.”

“That’s because…”

Recalling the past, Artif’s brows furrowed tightly.

“There was… a reason for that.”

And what exactly is that supposed to mean?

“What reason?”

“Because of the trash around you. Never because of you, Shasha—don’t misunderstand.”

He must be talking about Chase.

“Ah!”

“What is it?”

Speaking of trash reminded me. How could I have forgotten what Kenan said today—that Caius was coming to kill me.

Strange. Only when I’m with Artif do I let my guard down like this.

Even though I still hadn’t cleared my doubts about him, after the contaminated Rika leaf incident, I was being careless again.

‘Is it because of the bond we’ve built?’

I should be suspicious of everything happening around me, but when it came to Artif, my vigilance just slipped away the moment we met.

“I have to go meet someone.”

“Who?”

“Marquis Borghese.”

The moment I answered casually, Artif’s face hardened.

“Why him? Are you close enough to make appointments with him?”

“It’s not an appointment. I just think he’s coming here to see me.”

“What for?”

Artif lowered his voice and pressed sternly.

“I ran into him at the palace the other day, and I said I’d invite him for tea. But I haven’t followed up yet.”

Why am I answering him so honestly?

“Shasha. That man is not what he seems. Don’t be fooled by that polished face. He’s dangerous.”

Chase had said Artif had dabbled in black magic.

I couldn’t completely trust Chase’s words—but honestly, I wasn’t believing him at all.

Artif, into black magic? The same Artif who begged me for jelly snacks? Would he have deliberately given me a poisonous Rika leaf?

“What do you mean, he’s not what he seems?”

Artif… do you also know that Caius is a demon?

“There’s no trace of his past. Nothing about what he did or where he was before being adopted by the Borghese family. On paper, he’s from a cadet branch of nobility, but no one has ever actually seen him before that.”

“…Why did you look into him?”

I swallowed nervously, bracing myself for his answer.

“Because he’s the Crown Prince’s closest aide.”

“Ah…”

I deflated.

Well, of course. As the head of a ducal house, it’s only natural to keep tabs on other nobles—especially one from a rival family like Borghese.

“I can’t force you, but for your own safety, I’d rather you not meet him.”

Artif said seriously.

“I can’t do that.”

Caius knew about my mother’s illness, about the medicine Chase was giving her. He even knew that I had been the Saint in my past life.

Thanks to Kenan, I knew Caius was a demon, but now another question arose:

‘Then why is Chase, who was a hero in his past life, associating with a demon?’

Could it be, just like I can’t recognize him, Chase can’t either?

“Shasha, he’s too much for you to handle alone. You absolutely must not meet him by yourself.”

I narrowed my eyes at Artif.

“Don’t order me around like that. I’m not your cat anymore. You’re not my master.”

“Master? No, I’m your butler. Basically your slave.”

Yeah right—how are a butler and a slave the same thing?

“And when you stole my jelly without asking, who was the ‘master’ then?”

“I only thought I was your master back then. That’s why I don’t take them without permission anymore.”

“That’s just because there’s no jelly left to steal.”

“Do you really think that?”

Artif asked in a low, meaningful tone.

“Uh…?”

I dumbly looked back at him, only for him to curl his lips into a smirk. His lingering gaze fell on my hand.

When I realized that, my face flushed instantly.

“A-anyway, I have to go!”

I jumped up and turned away to hide my burning face.

“Shasha. Wait.”

“What now?”

“Is it alright if I watch over from a distance?”

“Uh…”

I couldn’t answer right away.

Today really was going to be dangerous, and Artif would definitely get dragged into it if he stayed near.

I had planned to extract what information I could from Caius, and if he tried to abandon me like Kenan warned, I would bolt immediately.

“Please, Shasha? I’m just worried. If nothing happens, I won’t interfere. Isn’t that obvious, since we’re meeting like this in secret?”

“…Fine. But you have to stay far away.”

“Got it.”

“And especially don’t follow me into crowded places, like the central courtyard. Even if Marquis Borghese is a bad man, he wouldn’t be able to do anything with so many eyes around.”

Artif nodded readily.

Not that I could trust him.

“I’ll go first.”

“Be careful. And… I’ll be waiting to ‘coincidentally’ meet you again next time.”

I ignored the odd emphasis on his words and left the lounge.

Back in the exhibition hall, I admired Kenan’s paintings.

Some were of familiar places, like the riverbank where I played with him or his house, but many I didn’t recognize.

Still, they were clearly memories he had of me.

Whenever people appeared in the paintings, every single one was of me—my past self, the Saint Eluna as a child.

Others only knew the grown Saint Eluna. No one could recognize her as a child.

‘So Kenan didn’t die back then?’

Or maybe he had reincarnated too.

Unlike Chase, Seth, and me—whose appearances had changed—maybe demons didn’t change at all.

“Isn’t she adorable?”

While I was staring at the paintings, Caius finally appeared.

He was looking at the image of my past self and spoke.

“You can feel the artist’s affection. It makes even the viewer want to love this nameless little girl.”

Disgusting. A demon claiming to love the Saint—what a joke.

He’d once approached me threateningly, only to scuttle away under the excuse of his germophobia when he couldn’t touch me. And yet he lied so smoothly.

“Indeed. She must have been very special to the artist.”

I answered casually. Caius gave a charming smile—one handsome enough to make anyone swoon.

“Did you heed my advice about the dosage?”

As we slowly toured the exhibition together, he asked.

“What I’d like to know first is why you even told me that.”

“Didn’t I say before? I was truly delighted when you promised to invite me.”

“Then that means the medicine doesn’t heal—it makes things worse, doesn’t it?”

Caius only smiled without answering, but that was answer enough.

“What exactly is that medicine?”